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Virtuals
Virtuals are electronic games that involves human interaction with a tactile neural interface to generate sensory feedback through a computer. The word virtual is a shorthand term for virtual reality, and was a holdover term from several false starts and non-feedback VR that predated Tactile Neural Interfaces. Virtuals have become an art form and an industry. The virtual industry is by far the largest entertainment industry with, as of 2160, generated sales of USD 791 billion annually systemwide. History Early virtuals used interactive electronic devices with display visors and incorporated audio feedback. The earliest example is the 1985 DataGlove by VPL Research, but the first commercially successful interface was the Oculus Rift by Oculus VR in 2016. The success of Oculus drove major players in the video game and movie industry to begin creating content for virtual reality interfaces. Valve, Sony, and Nintendo all raced to produce their own VR systems, while Microsoft partnered with Oculus. In 2025, Epic Games unveiled the first personality AI for Unreal Engine 7 to enable developers to populate games with NPCs that didn't require hundreds of voice actors to generate unique dialogue or behavior for each character. This development was timed to launch with the Sony PlayStation V, the first console to include a tactile neural interface in the headset. The console could record audio for player/character interactions, sense intended and actual motion (making it possible for some players to barely move while playing), and could even have player characters produce facial expressions for online play and NPC interaction. Rockstar games included Grand Theft Auto 7 in an exclusive deal with Sony to launch their virtual gaming system. GTA 7 would go on to major commercial success, and led numerous other companies to develop open world Virtuals and their own systems, spawning the virtual industry. A flood of open world virtuals eventually led to the video game crash of 2027, which came to an end with the mainstream success of Neurosystems 2034 sword fighting game Sengoku Blade, marking the beginning of the golden age of sensory feedback virtuals and inspiring dozens of manufacturers to enter the market. The game inspired tactile neural interfaces to become prevalent in mainstream retailers. Microsoft announced the closure of its XBox division in favor of licencing dedicated gaming software for TNIs. Sony followed suit which helped them recover from their earlier losses. The 2030s saw virtuals eclipse traditional video games, but also television series and movies production companies began using new motion capture technology to screen films virtually for maximum immersion. These would go on to become the first Experience Series where the viewer would be watching events take place from the perspective of someone in the crowd. In 2039 smart NPCs had become sufficiently advanced for some production houses to release Experience Series that users could directly interact with as a lead or self-insert character. That same year the first TV series were adapted for VR interaction, primarily cartoons and CG series from the end of the 20th Century to the American Animation Renaissance of the 2010s. These were some of the first series to employ digital conversion technologies and limited computer generated animation, which was easier for early VR conversion systems to render characters and settings. The release of these new and rebooted franchises coincided with the 2030s Anime Renaissance which lasted until US-Japanese relations deteriorated in the mid-2040s. By 2041 the US military having been experimenting with virtuals as a means of educating soldiers in simulated combat scenarios without risking their lives, began testing time dilation perception technology to reduce the amount of realtime for a soldier to learn a skill or simulate an war-game. The technology would not enter the public domain until after World War III, but would go on to be adopted by a number of education centers as means of accelerated learning. By the middle of the 2060s it was common practice for universities to offer purely virtual courses and simulated internships, increasing employee productivity and experience in far less time. Tactile Neural Interface While TNIs were never created with the intent to be used for Virtuals, Virtuals wouldn't have been possible without TNIs. Originally developed by the communications industry as a new form of user interface for wearables, the virtual industry quickly adopted tactile neural interfaces as a means of more immersive experiences for users. Initially debuted as a way to sense user gestures, mood, and expressions, it wasn't until 2034 that the first sensory feedback virtuals entered mass market. TNI technology advanced by quantum leaps during WWIII, and post war technology transfer programs introduced the public to virtual time dilation and full immersion VR, which let users remain motionless while using tactile neural interfaces and play games that are perceived to last longer than in realtime. Experience Series Experience Series gained popularity in the 2040s as a new class of virtual that enabled users to watch directed series or movies from any perspective they chose. While popular opinion of the era was that traditional actors would be rendered obsolete by the creation of Smart NPCs, Experience series saw the dawn of a new field of acting. It was no longer enough for an actor to project drama, they had to experience it to such a degree that someone watching could interface with their recorded emotional state and neural feedback and experience what the actors felt during their performance. During World War III, a popular form of Experience media came from battlefield recordings of soldiers in the field. Popular Virtuals *'Grand Theft Auto 7' (2025) -Set in Eagle City (Philadelphia). You create a character who gets mixed up in a gang war between the displaced, but still powerful Italian Mob and local street gangs in Eagle City. Praised as the first Triple A Virtual. *'Fallout V' (2025) - Set in Florida just after the events of Fallout 4. You are a vault dweller of a vault that was conquered and resealed by the Enclave. The Vault's reactor melts down and you and your people are forced back up into the surface to find a new home. Included remastered maps and AI from Fallout 3 and 4. *'Tier One: Desert Storm' (2026) -You play as a Navy SEAL operator in Iraq on a dark and twisted road following Saddam's genocide of the Kurds. Praised for its dark storytelling and uncompromising view of US foreign policy in the Mid-east. *'Halo: Anniversary' (2026) - Complete remaster of all 7 Halo games and new gameplay and stories adapted from the novelizations. *'Sims VR' (2027) - The last game in the famous Sims franchise. Believed by many to have caused the Video Game Crash of 2027. *'Sengoku Blade' (2034) - First TNI Virtual. You play as a Samurai during the Sengoku period of Japan's feudal wars. *'Skychasers' (2034) - Dieselpunk flight combat game. *'Pokemon World' (2036) - Set in the Universe of the Pokemon animated series. You create and play as your own character, but can interact with characters in the show and games. Praised for its status as the first anime Virtual conversion, but criticized for the linearity of the main story. *'Big O: Negotiator Files' (2036) - Play as Roger Smith in the events of the Big O anime as well as several new cases created just for the game. *'Gravity Falls' (2037) - First western animated series to be converted to Virtual. Praised for the degree at which players could alter the course of events in the show. However, stories were still concentrated to episodic events to limit player ability to change the whole story of the series. *'Trigun: Gunsmoke' (2037) - Set in the universe of Trigun. Unlike Pokemon World or Gravity Falls, Trigun permitted full player impact on the story. It was actually possible to kill major characters and continue with the story from the player's perspective. *'Avatar: The Last Airbender' (2038) *'Dragon Ball: Another Road' (2038) *'Full Metal Alchemist' (2039) *'Steven Universe' (2039) *'Devil Dogs: Battle for the Pacific' (2049) -Set during WWII's Pacific theater, following a US Marine from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa. *'X Day: War for Japan' (2053) -Set in an alternate timeline where the Trinity test is not successful and the US is forced to invade Japan. *'Dracula: Vampire Wars' (2054) -Set during the Ottoman invasion of Romania. You play as Vlad the Impaler and battle as a Vampire against the Ottoman Empire. *'Guns of Warsaw' (2058) - Set during the Battle of Poland. Player jumps between perspectives of Polish Army defenders, US Armored Infantry, and Hungarian partisans. *'Moon Over Chicago' (2061) - Set in just before the Great Fire in Chicago, you play as a werewolf attempting to rescue his lover from a cult of religious fanatics. Featured some of the first body transformation engines, capitalizing on popularity of genetic modification. *'Skinchangers' (2065) - Set in an urban fantasy world, players take the role of Druid detectives, changing into animals to solve mysteries. *'The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger's Quest '(2065) The player controls Roland, the last Gunslinger of Mid-world, guiding him in his quest to seek the legendary Dark Tower and defeat the evil Crimson King. Expands greatly on the mythology presented in the books, adding a number of new characters. *'World Masters: 1870' (2067) - Most advanced simulation virtual of the era. Starts players off in 1870 and gives them the power to select and lead an existing nation or create a new one. Players can craft vehicles and weapons, infrastructure, and form alliances up to 1960. *'The Lost Tome: Reclamation' (2103) *'Dreamwalker' (2110) Category:Entertainment